asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can inform the House of the probable date of the publication of the Report of the Departmental Committee on Imperial and Local Taxation appointed nearly three years ago to deal expeditiously with the subject?

The Committee have not yet completed their Report, but I understand that there is every prospect of its being made at an early date.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will furnish particulars of the several offers recently made to the Government of land in furtherance of the Government's programme of land reform; and whether Parliament will be afforded an opportunity of considering such offers, in the light of the different statements made by him from time to time in explanation of the Government's land policy?

The offers in question are now before the Development Commission. The desirability of publishing particulars of the offers made will be considered after the Commissioners have reported.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the damages, £75, and costs of action, which were by a judgment on 20th November, 1913, adjudged payable to Charles Twinn, of Wealdstone, in the Gore Division of Middlesex, in an action brought by Mr. Twinn for trespass against Herbert James Farrow, the collector of taxes for the parishes of Harrow, Harrow Weald, and Wealdstone, in the said Division, were defrayed and paid by an assessment in accordance with the provisions of Section 20, Sub-section (8), of the Taxes Management Act, 1880, or from some other and what source or fund under the control or direction of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue?

Payment has been made out of the Inland Revenue Vote.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many naval lieutenants resigned from the Navy during the years 1912 and 1913?

Fourteen lieutenants resigned from the active list in 1912, of whom one subsequently returned. Eleven resigned in 1913.

also asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he can now inform the House whether the medal for operations in the Persian Gulf, carried out by officers and men in the Navy in the years 1909–12, has yet been granted; and, if not, will he say why it has not yet been given?

The operations in the Persian Gulf referred to were not of a kind for which the Indian Service Medal could be awarded, and it has been necessary to consider whether services such as those in question can be recognised by some other appropriate medal. No final decision has yet been arrived at.

asked the Secretary of State for War what number of men the Regular Army and Territorial Force, respectively, are now below establishment?

The numbers of warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men deficient on 1st January, 1914, were, respectively:— Regular Army 8,999 Territorial Force 61,348

asked the Secretary of State for War if Major Viscount Crichton, of the Horse Guards, was asked by the War Office to resign his commission and, if so, on what grounds; if he was subsequently requested to remain with his regiment; and if he will state the reasons for withdrawing the demand for his resignation?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for War what number of troops of all arms are at present maintained by this country in South Africa and at what annual cost; and whether any representations have been made, since self-government was granted to South Africa, by the South African Government in opposition to the withdrawal of those troops?

There are about 6,800 Imperial troops in South Africa. To the annual cost, as stated on page 215 of the Army Estimates, should be added £146,000 in respect of the cost of sea transport and other items of expenditure incurred outside the limits of South Africa, but on account of the troops stationed there. No representations have been made by the South African Government in opposition to the withdrawal of Imperial troops.

asked the Secretary for War whether, in view of the increase recently made in the pay of Army officers serving at home and in the Colonies, a corresponding increase will be made in the pay of British service officers serving in India?

The Secretary of State has, with reference to the new scales of pay, promulgated by the War Office, requested the Government of India to consider the desirability of revising the rates of pay of British service officers serving in India.

asked the President of the Board of Education it the destruction of the majolica columns of the old Ceramic Gallery, or Lecture Theatre Gallery, in the Victoria and Albert Museum has been so complete that not a single specimen of them has been preserved?

None of the columns in the old Ceramic Gallery have been preserved, but all the originals, from which the columns in the gallery were adapted, are in the Central Refreshment Room, and they are, and will remain, available for students and others desiring to study this class of work.

asked the President of the Board of Education if ho is aware that no specimens of middle Victorian pottery contemporary with the majolica columns in the old Ceramic Gallery of the Victoria and Albert Museum had ever been or were exhibited in that gallery; and: if so, what steps he proposes to take?

Between the years 1844 and 1869 more than 1,000 specimens of contemporaneous pottery, including 356 pieces bought at the Paris Exhibition in 1867 were purchased for the Museum. In Appendix D of the 15th Report (1869) of the Science and Art Department, page 210, it is stated that a great improvement in the general classification of the collections was in the course of being carried out by grouping the whole of the examples of ceramic art, the property of the Museum, and by arranging the collection in the new corridor of the Lecture Theatre. In Appendix D of the 16th Report (1869), page 296, it is stated that the new Ceramic Gallery now open to the public had been filled with specimens of the potter's art of all countries and periods. In Appendix D of the 18th Report (1871), page 383, it is stated that the ceramic collection, which had been moved to allow of the painting and decoration of the walls of the gallery, had been entirely rearranged, and all the new acquisitions exhibited in their respective divisions. The last part of the question does not arise.

asked the President of the Board of Education if the Committee who advised him upon the new decoration of the old Ceramic Gallery in the Victoria and Albert Museum were instructed to consider their recommendations, especially with reference to the exhibition of works of art of the times of Louis XIV. and Louis XV. contained in the Jones Bequest; and if he is aware that such works form only a portion of this collection, the whole of which must, under the terms of the bequest, be exhibited together and may not be separated?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, and to the second part in the affirmative. I may call the hon. Member's attention to the fact that the terms of reference to the Committee are to be found in Command Paper 6355 of 1912.

asked the Home Secretary the number of women political prisoners who are now undergoing sentence, the number who have been or are being forcibly fed, and for what periods, and the number who have been released on licence?

There are no women political prisoners now undergoing sentence, but I presume the hon. Member refers to women convicted of arson and other crimes against the ordinary law, committed in supposed furtherance of the cause of women's suffrage. Apart from, six women received in prison yesterday, under short sentences, who are not refusing food, there are now only two women of this class in prison, and both of these are being fed by tube, but as they offer no resistance, the use of force is not now necessary. One of them has been fed artificially since 5th January, and also for three short periods previous to that date, with intervals during which she took food voluntarily: the other, since 8th January. Another woman, who has been fed forcibly since 18th January, was released on bail to-day.

asked the Home Secretary how many fatalities were caused in the Metropolitan Police area and the City of London during 1913 by each class of vehicle using the streets, and how many street traffic fatalities occurred in the Metropolitan Police area and the City of London during 1913?

The figures are as follows:— Metropolitan Police District. Motor vehicles:— Omnibuses … 180 Tramcars … 58 Cabs … 29 Motor cars (private) … 83 Motor cars (commercial) … 61 Motor cycles … 13 424 Other vehicles, etc.:— Cabs … 6 Private carriages … 7 Commercial vehicles … 142 Cycles … 22 Horses (ridden or led) … 7 184 Total … 608 City of London. Motor vehicles:— Omnibuses … 10 Cabs … 1 Other vehicles:— Commercial vans … 6 Total … 17

also asked whether Mrs. Pankhurst and Mr. George Lansbury were convicted under the same Act of Parliament and for similar offences; and, if so, will he say why Mr. Lansbury is allowed to remain at liberty while Mrs. Pankhurst is frequently rearrested, seeng that the law in this matter makes no distinction between men and women?

Mrs. Pankhurst and Mr. George Lansbury were not convicted under the same Act, nor for the same offence. Mrs. Pankhurst was convicted and sentenced to three years' penal servitude for an offence against the Malicious Injuries to Property Act, 1861. Mr. Lansbury was not convicted of any offence, but became liable to imprisonment for three months because he failed to enter into a recognisance and find sureties to be of good behaviour. Mrs. Pankhurst and Mr. Lansbury were released under the same Act; but Mrs. Pankhurst when released takes every opportunity of openly defying the law and declares her intention of continuing to do so. Mr. Lansbury has expressed no such intention.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he can state separately what is the number of men, women, and children of Indian descent in the islands of Fiji and Trinidad?

The following figures are taken from the Census Reports for 1911:— TRINIDAD CENSUS, 1911. *Born in India Males 32,779 50,585 Females 17,806 Born in Trinidad of Indian parents (both) Males 29,782 58,021 Females 28,239 Born in Trinidad, father only Indian Males 523 975 Females 452 Born in Trinidad, mother only Indian Males 299 539 Females 240 Total—Males 63,383 Females 46,737 110,120

*Of this total of 50,585– Ages up to 14 Females 790 Males 647 Ages 15 and upwards Males 31,989 Females 17,159 50,585

FIJI. Indians— Under 15 years Males 6,011 Females 5,428 Over 15 years Males 20,062 Females 8,785 40,286

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will furnish a return showing the total population and the Indian population separately, according to the last Census, in all Crown Colonies and Protectorates in which there is an Indian emigrant population; and, if possible, the number of male and female adult Indians in each case?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that in January, 1910, Messrs. Adriano Sammut and George Francica were brought before the Court of magistrates in Malta, charged with having committed slander against Honorary Lieutenant and Quartermaster Quarrell, of the Suffolk Regiment; whether he is aware that the law of Malta is so framed that the Court could not admit any proofs to substantiate these charges, and that the accused were fined and imprisoned; whether this is the same Honorary Captain and Quartermaster Quarrell who has been concerned in the recent Army canteen case; whether the firm of Lipton involved is the same firm as in the present case; and, if so, whether he will consider the advisability of altering the law of Malta to avoid a repetition of this failure to allow the production of evidence in support of charges made?

I have no knowledge of the case referred to. It was not brought, before the Royal Commission which inquired into the judicial procedure, of Malta in 1911 and 1912.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether there is any reason why the right to combine privilege leave with general leave enjoyed by officers of the Indian Army and by certain officers of the British service holding staff appointments in India should not be extended to all officers of the British service serving in India?

This question is now under the consideration of the Government of India.

asked the Under-Secretary for India when it is expected that the Report of Messrs. James MacNeill and Chimman Lall, who were deputed to conduct an official inquiry into the conditions under which Indian labour is employed in the Crown Colonies, will be submitted?

I understand that the Report will be submitted before long, but am not yet able to name a date.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether the rule lately introduced for the Indian Army, by which officers who have reached the age of forty-eight for the Cavalry and fifty for the Infantry are debarred from promotion to the command of their regiments, has inflicted a hardship on certain senior second-in-commands who, had the rule been issued with prospective effect, instead of immediate effect, would have obtained command; and, if so, whether he will take into consideration the financial loss and disappointment suffered by these officers who, having devoted their lives to qualifying for this command, are suddenly and through no fault of their own debarred from that honour, and will give them the compensation that is their due?

As regards the first part of the question, the new rule may in certain cases inflict hardship, but the threatened serious block in promotion in Indian regiments, detrimental both to personal efficiency and to the interests of all regimental British officers, necessitated some drastic change in the old rules. Commanding officers vacating their appointments under the new rules will be entitled to serve on for full pension under the old terms.

asked the Under-Secretary for India, whether the peasant proprietors of the village of Dokoha, in the Punjab, formerly owned about 1,130 acres of land, but have since been deprived of all but 325 acres, owing chiefly to the foundation of the cantonments of Jullundur, and more recently to public needs such as camping grounds, roads, and railway lines; and whether, in view of the fact that no compensation was paid to the villagers for over 700 acres of land originally taken for public purposes, the Government will now provide them with other land equivalent in value to that of which they have been deprived?

The Secretary of State will make inquiries as to the allegations made in the hon. Member's question.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture what system of administration exists in this country for the prevention of the practice of exporting to foreign countries horses, crippled and worn out in their masters' service, destined for cruel slaughter and exploitation abroad?

The exportation of horses from Great Britain to the Continent is regulated by the Diseases of Animals Act, 1910. The system of administration cannot be described within the limits of an answer to a Parliamentary question, but I am sending to the hon. and learned Member a copy of the Board's Annual Report for the year 1912, in which he will find full particulars. The report for last year will soon be available.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture what amounts have been expended out of the Government Grant, under the Tuberculosis Order, 1913, upon compensation and administration, respectively, in connection with the elimination of bovine tuberculosis in England and Wales; how it is proposed to apply the balance of the Exchequer Grant of £60,000 per annum; and whether he proposes to take any, and, if any, what steps to encourage stock-owners to report to the local authorities cases of bovine tuberculosis existing on their holdings?

Up to the present £1,686 7s. 1d. has been paid by the Board towards the cost of compensation under the Tuberculosis Order of 1913, but there is a large number of accounts not yet received from the local authorities, some dating from the September quarter. The Board are in communication with the Treasurer in regard to a revision of the basis of valuation and the scale of compensation prescribed in the Order.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, in view of the fact that during the six years that the present Swine Fever Orders have been in operation the proportion of the pig population of the country deemed to be affected by this disease has steadily increased, with a consequent large and hitherto ineffective expenditure of public money both upon compensation and upon administration and a shortage of pigs throughout the country, resulting in the present high cost of bacon and other pig meat, he is prepared, without delay, to abandon the present swine fever policy of the Board in favour of a policy less vexatious to the agricultural community?

I cannot accept the hon. Member's assumption that the present shortage of pigs and the high cost of bacon and other pig meat are caused solely, if at all, by the methods adopted by the Board for dealing with swine fever. I would suggest to him that a partial explanation, at any rate, is to be found in the fact that between 1908 and 1912 the amount of pig meat imported into this country fell from 7,753,799 cwts. to 6,057,952 cwts., a drop of nearly a million and three-quarters hundredweights; the high prices consequently obtainable induced many breeders to sell their breeding sows for slaughter. The Board's swine fever policy is based upon the best expert advice obtainable, and, disappointing though the results have been, I am not prepared to abandon it until a satisfactory alternative has been discovered. If I am right in interpreting the hon. Member's question to mean that ho knows of such an alternative policy, and is in a position to prove its superiority. I shall be glad if he will be good enough to communicate it to the hon. Member for the Eye Division for the consideration of the Swine Fever Committee.

asked how many cases of foot-and-mouth disease have been reported in England during the six months ending 31st January last?

During the six months ended on the 31st January last, eleven suspected cases of foot-and-mouth disease in England were reported to the Board, two of which were confirmed.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture how much longer he proposes to continue the present restrictions on the import of live Irish cattle to Great Britain?

Provided that no new outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Ireland is reported, it is proposed to issue an Order, to come into operation on Saturday next, so far modifying the existing restrictions as to allow animals to be moved, after ten hours' detention at the landing places, to specified destinations, there to be kept under observation for ten days unless slaughtered in the meantime. I hope that it will soon be possible to allow the trade to be resumed under normal conditions.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is aware that a large consignment of cattle has been detained at Ennis, county Clare, although Ennis is over a hundred miles from the scene of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, and although there has been no case of such disease in that district for forty years; and whether, as the disease, itself has now been stamped out, he will order the immediate opening of the ports for store cattle intended for the markets?

I have no particular information respecting the case referred to in the first part of the question. In consequence of the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in county Kildare the Board, acting in consultation with the Irish Department, decided that the trade in live stock between Ireland and Great Britain must be placed temporarily under restrictions as a precaution against the introduction of infection. In reply to the second part of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to my answer to the previous question.

asked the Secretary for Scotland when the long deferred Report of the Departmental Committee on Scottish Fisheries will be presented?

The Report is now in the printer's hands.

asked if the Government intend during this Session to introduce legislation to ratify the Declaration of London, as promised in reply to a question on 7th August last year; and if any steps have yet been taken to appoint, for this country, the National Committee in preparation for the next Hague Conference?

With regard to the first part of the question I am not yet in a position to make any statement. With regard to the second part, I do not know what Committee the hon. Member refers to, but I presume that it is the International Committee, which, in accordance with the ''Voeu" adopted by the Second Peace Conference, is to be summoned two years in advance of the Third Conference in order to prepare a detailed programme of its proceedings and organisation. This Committee has not yet been summoned. Upon this question the position is the same as that of which I informed the hon. Member on 6th August last.

asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether he is in a position to report any progress in connection with negotiations for the conclusion of an International Sea Fisheries Convention for the waters of the English Channel?

Negotiations are still in progress with the French Government for the conclusion of a Convention, and it is hoped that a meeting will shortly take place between a British and a French official with a view to a settlement of the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can make any statement regarding the decisions of the International Conference upon the Safety of Life at Sea, especially with regard to the wider use of wireless telegraphy?

My predecessor has already laid a Command Paper, which will be published on Monday next, which contains the text of the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea, together with an English translation. I fear that pending such publication it would not be possible in a reply to a question to make any statement which would adequately cover the decisions of the Conference. I may, however, inform my hon. Friend that, subject to certain exemptions, all ocean-going vessels having on board fifty persons will be required to be fitted with wireless telegraphy apparatus.

asked the Postmaster-General what is the average rate of com- mission per pound sterling paid to scale payment sub-postmasters for the sale of health insurance and unemployment stamps; and what payment was made to sub-postmasters for distributing literature, answering questions, and showing posters in connection with the National Insurance Act?

The credit given to scale payment sub-postmasters for national insurance work is two units in the scale for each £1 worth of stamps sold, and 1d. for each card issued, except those handed out on oral application, with a minimum increase of payment for national insurance work of £2 a year. The calculations of the actual payments due to the sub-postmasters have not all been completed, and it is not at present therefore possible to state the average payment for each £1 worth of stamps. No separate payment is-made for distributing literature, answering questions, and showing posters.